Page 32 - Westchester Magazine - 2020 Golf Guide

TRAVEL | Scotland
St. Andrews
Scotland Reigns
Something happens as we prepare to celebrate our midlife birthdays. Some of us go shopping for red convertibles. Others turn introspective and secretly write an outline for their memoirs. Golfers, however, plan a special buddy trip. One that will be fun but with serious endeavors on the golf course, with good food, drink, and companions of like mind, to a destination we’re not likely to visit every year but wish we could. When one of my friend’s 50th loomed on the horizon, he chose Scotland and invited me to make the journey.
The resulting pilgrimage to the birthplace of golf was a resounding, memorable success. We played 10 rounds over seven days, travers- ing the country from west to east, with all the hassles ironed out by an experienced golf-tour company. We ate well, imbibed occasionally, saw a few sights on the side, and thoroughly relished every experience. Here’s a day-by-day run down of the trip.
Day One
Atop the Buddy Trip
Bucket List
After a redeye from JFK, we arrive at Edinburgh Airport in the early morning and meet our driver, who takes us to Troon on the country’s west coast. We check into the Highgrove House Hotel, an intimate nine-
Every buddy trip is special, but one destination in the world of golf carries the aura of a pilgrimage. Such is Scotland, the birthplace of golf. By Dave Donelson
30 GOLF 2020 www.westchestermagazine.com Photos courtesy of Dan Berger, Eric Berger, Lokesh Reddy, and Dave Donelson